Highschool AU
by castiels-tardis-blue-eyes
Summary: Cas begins the school year with low hopes for the future when two new kids join the school. Destiel in progress.


AU: Dean and Cas as highschoolers

The class was noisy as usual as Cas sat by himself looking through his new black rimmed glasses. He'd been there for the last hour and was the first to arrive by a long way. He always was. Like every typical American high school, there were cliques although a few months back he got turfed out of his own group of nerds after not wanting to watch Star Trek with them. Now he sat alone wandering in his own mind, waiting for someone to pull him out.

He did not get the person he wanted. Tyler, the blonde haired blue eyed jock who sat behind him through a paper ball at him. Cas flinched a little as it had woken him up and Tyler and his friends laughed.

"Hey, hey nerd. I'm talkin to you." Tyler said threateningly, Cas refused to turn around. A few seconds passed then he felt the hard thwack of a hard back book on his head. Cas clenched his jaw, his eyes welling up from the pain but still refused to turn around. He was too tired from last night to pick a fight. The new semester had triggered his anxiety disorder and so he barely scraped 2 hours sleep the night before the first day back. He was on the highest dose of Sertraline available for his age, but it still wasn't working.

His teacher walked in, a well respected young man with dark hair and stubble, dressed in a button down shirt, tie and trousers. Following closely behind him was a new face Cas didn't recognise. An attractive guy, young enough to be a new class member walked in with a confident saunter, close cropped browny blonde hair spiked at the front and smooth tan skin.

"Hello class, welcome back. I'm sure you're all thrilled to be here." The teacher, Mr Anderson, began with a sarcastic edge and warm smile. "This is Dean Winchester. He's new so please make him feel welcome." He said then turned to Dean. "Is there anything you'd like to say to the class before you sit down?" He asked.

"Not really." Dean replied with a nervous smile at the class. Cas glanced at him curiously and Dean caught his eye for a second and Cas looked back down at the desk.

"Then choose your seat." The teacher said, smiled and sat down on his seat behind the desk. Cas tried desperately not to look up, but he had to gauge him. Would he be another like Tyler? Dean wasn't dressed like him, in his black shirt, unbuttoned plaid shirt and thick brown leather jacket. He knew that the seat next to him was free and Cas's heart began to race. His anxiety was getting worse as his hands clammed up and his chest started to hurt as the butterflies built in his stomach. All new people and places had this effect on him, he didn't like change, especially changes like Dean. Cas drew in a breath slowly as he tried to calm himself, then a bag hit the ground next to him and startled he looked up, wide eyed to see Dean sat across from him. Cas looked back at his desk before Dean noticed and forced himself to calm down. He couldn't have a panic attack on the first day. Surely? He shut his eyes hard and breathe in slowly as the class got louder again.

"What's up with him?" A new deep voice asked. Cas subtly glanced over at Dean, who was turned around to Tyler.

"He's a freak. That's what up with him. Fuckin' weirdo, I'm tellin you man, don't go near him." Tyler warned harshly. Cas's mouth tugged downwards slightly and he bit the inside of his lip and swallowed. The bell rung clearly through the air and Cas stood and exited as fast as he could. Not looking back as he forced back tears.

Lunch time was one of the worst times for Cas last year. He had to queue up to get his lunch in the canteen, and that'd be bad enough with all the people around but what was worse was the jocks sat on the table next to the queue. It wasn't just him who got picked on there. Loads of people did. The juniors and sophomores alike. So Cas stopped eating there, and eventually stopped eating altogether during school. He couldn't stand it and his parents couldn't afford it, so instead every lunch time he went to the library, found his corner, in a fairly secluded area of the large library and hid behind a cabinet for the duration of lunch and napped when he could, but mostly he just thought about things, worked himself up then calmed himself back down. It was fairly cramped but no one ever disturbed him and it was peaceful. Today was one of those lucky days when he could sleep.

He suddenly jolted awake much later on. He looked around panicked, no noise in the library not even the usual shuffle of footsteps. His chest began to ache as he got anxious. He climbed out of his hiding spot and walked around the bookcase to see the clock. He'd missed half of the last lesson of the day.

"Shit." He muttered then ran out of the library.

Five minutes later he burst into his biology class, all eyes fixed on him. Cold stares eating away into him as he slowly made his way to his seat at the side of the class.

"Glad you've decided to join us Mr Novak." His teacher began, a elderly large man with wispy white hair and thick glasses that made his eyes look tiny. "Why are you late?" Cas froze behind his seat and looked up as his heart beat heavily in his throat.

"Uh I was in the library." Cas replied shakily. It was a legitimate excuse given the bell doesn't ring in there and he might have had a free. He sat down carefully and the teacher turned back to the board. He looked around the room. The eyes were facing front again as the teacher began to speak, all except one. Dean was looking at Cas curiously then looked away and clenched his jaw as soon as Cas looked back. _He probably thinks I'm a freak. _Cas thought to himself, opening his book to the last page, smoothing out the paper as he began to copy from the board.

Throughout the lesson the teacher continued to pick on Cas because of his late entry. Making him answer questions on a range of subjects involved in plant respiration. A subject he obviously couldn't care less about, but one he was familiar with since he'd been blessed with a very good memory given that that's what school was all about. One big memory test after another, most of the information never being useful again. The downside of his good memory was that he could remember everything anyone had ever said to hurt him. Every word had been ingrained onto his memory, becoming the first and last things he thought about. _Freak. Weirdo. Fag. Cas the ass. Loser. Nerd. _And so many more. Not just spoken insults. Ones punched onto his teeth, or into his eyes, blackening it with hatred, sometimes his ribs. A few bones had been broken over the years but nothing too serious, Cas had learnt to avoid the guys who'd targeted him. He learnt to take different routes home. Alternating them. Avoiding certain locations and never going out past 7. It was messed up but it kept him safe.

The bell rang and the class began to pack up their things. "Cas, a word please." The teacher said expectantly. As some people left Cas walked towards the man, his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Since it's the first day, I'll let you off. But if you come late to my lesson again, boy, you'll be straight in detention. We're not starting this up again. Understand?" The teacher said harshly, Cas nodded.

"Yes sir." He said quietly then walked away. Dean walked out just before him and bumped the door open for him.

"Thanks." Cas said quietly. Dean half jogged to catch up with him. Cas looked over at him, looking scared.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked, raising an arm slightly. Cas flinched away from his arm then looked down at his feet.

"I'm fine." He replied in a low husky voice not looking up. Tyler barged into him heavily making Cas drop his bag, it broke open as it hit the floor and scattered his things across the hallway.

"Watch where you're going, doofus." Tyler commented harshly as Cas dropped to his knees to hurriedly pick up his things.

"What the hell's this?" Tyler taunted, picking up a bottle of Cas' anti-anxiety drugs and giving them a shake. Cas looked up frightened.

"Give it back." He demanded weakly from the floor. Tyler half smiled and held it above his head.

"Come and get em." He sneered. Cas reached up weakly, just as he was about to grab it, Tyler moved them up. Cas stood up leaving a few books still on the floor.

"Give it back." Cas said clenching his jaw as his chest began to hurt again, he winced in pain as a wave went over his chest. Tyler shook the bottle tauntingly above Cas' head. Cas tried to jump for it but Tyler moved it higher. His chest pains worsened as he buckled over, clutching his chest.

"Give them back to him man." Dean spoke up, Cas glanced up surprised he was still there then yelped as another wave of tension crossed his chest. Tyler and Dean glanced at Cas then looked at eachother.

"Or what?" Tyler taunted.

"Don't be a douche, just give them back to him." Dean said raising his voice slightly. Cas forced himself to breathe slower even though his heart was pounding through his chest. Cas yelped again and shut his eyes tight as he fell against the wall, hitting his head hard and sliding down to the ground with his knees up to his chest.

"Hey man you alright?" Dean called to Cas who painfully looked at Dean then nodded at the pills, given it was too painful to talk. "Okay that's it." Dean commented, understanding. Took a step forward, clipped Tyler's knee causing him to lose his balance wrenching the tablets out of his hand with his left hand then punching him on the cheekbone with his right knocking Tyler back several feet. Dean threw the tablets to Cas who hurriedly opened up the pot and tipped it up in his mouth. He accidentally swallowed two, but the pain was so severe in his chest he didn't care anymore.

"You've started this with the wrong guy, Winchester." Tyler said holding his cheek slightly as he sauntered off with his friends.

"What the fuck is his problem, man?" Dean asked rhetorically shaking his head as he bent down to pick up Cas' other books. He handed them to Cas who was now more relaxed. "And what the hell was that? Was that a heart attack?!" Dean asked, kneeling down to his height.

"Thank you." Cas wheezed. "You didn't have to do that." Dean looked taken aback.

"I didn't?! Man you looked like you were about to die, so what was that?" He asked again, softer. Sitting down next to Cas, back against the wall. Cas eyed him up cautiously. He didn't know how to judge him, so he didn't and assumed after what happened that he'd be kind.

"I get panic attacks a lot and one of the things that come with that are heart palpitations." Cas replied, breathing more steadily then turned to stare blankly at the wall opposite him "Some worse than others."

"Son of a bitch." Dean commented then turned to face Cas again. "So who are you?"

"Cas Novak." Cas said, pulling his bag towards him and slinging it on his shoulder.

"Cas...what's that short for?" Dean replied standing up.

"Castiel." Cas replied as Dean offered out his hand.

"Dean." He replied and Cas took his hand and Dean pulled him up, misjudging it slightly and Cas bumped into him.

"Sorry." Cas muttered then looked up to see Dean's face inches away. His eyes glistened for a moment then he let go of Cas' hand and looked away.

"Don't worry." Dean replied then hurriedly walked away. "See you tomorrow." He called, not turning around. Cas watched him go, furrowed his eyebrows then started walking out too.

_The next day._

Cas sat up suddenly, the hot covers falling just below his chest. Rising and falling fast as he hyperventilated, his pupils heavily dilated. He took in his familiar surroundings and began to calm down. He glanced over at the LED clock. _3:48am. _He rolled his eyes back into his skull then leant down the side of his bed to pick up his sketchpad. He flipped it to a blank page and began to draw what he'd seen. His nightmares had progressively gotten worse since the stress of a new year had gotten to him. Violent disturbing images of monsters beyond imagining, ripping him apart and torturing him. He'd often wake up shaken in a pool of sweat. Often too awake to get back to sleep for several hours. So he'd decided that instead of wasting that time letting the images sink in, he'd draw what he saw and dissociate with it so he could analyse it. Making something good out of a god awful situation. After an hour of drawing eventually he could persuade his mind to think of happier things. He went through the usual list of good images when a new one arose which took him by surprise. Dean. Castiel was confused at first as to why he was seeing the new boy in his mind. Then clarified that Dean had acted as a life saver, giving his mind hope and therefore embedding itself as a positive force. Or at least he rationalised it to this.

Cas glanced back over at the clock. _5:42am. _Then smiled, he might actually be able to get back to sleep tonight.

"Mornin' Cas." Gabe called from the dining table as his little brother sleepily walked into the kitchen.

"Where's mom?" Cas asked rubbing his eye. Gabe frowned.

"At work dumbass. Are you alright? You look like hell." Gabe commented, shovelling another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. Cas got a bowl down from the cupboard, put it on the table next to Gabe and gave him a look.

"Thanks. I didn't sleep well last night." Cas replied taking the cereal and pouring it in, followed by some milk and hastily ate his breakfast. Gabe watched him as he finished his bowl stood up and put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge then walked out without a second glance.

"Got to get you some help, kid." Gabe muttered looking worriedly at where Cas was once stood.

_At School_

Cas was sat alone in the classroom, sketchbook open on his desk to his last drawing, he glanced up at the clock. _8:15. _Most people wouldn't start arriving until 8:45 so he had half an hour before he had to shut his sketchbook, but for now he could relax and fall into his own mind. He took out his biro and began to draw his brother Gabriel.

Lost in his own mind he didn't hear someone come in the room.

"Whatcha drawin' Cas?" Dean perked up and Cas slammed the sketchbook shut and looked up at Dean wide eyed. "Hey, chill it's only me." He said sitting down and dropping his bag on the floor and Cas looked a little calmer as he looked back at his sketchbook.

"My brother." Cas replied eventually.

"Can I see?" Dean asked gently with an outstretched hand, and Cas slowly shook his head.

"There are other drawings in there." He replied dragging his fingers across the cover, then he looked back up at Dean and cocked his head slightly to the left. "Why do you want to see them?" He asked cautiously and Dean shrugged, putting his arm back down.

"Just curious." He replied and Cas looked apologetic. Dean regarded him for a second then laid down on the floor, hand on hip with his top leg pushed forward slightly.

"Draw me like one of your French girls." Dean mocked in a camp voice and a smile whispered across Cas' lips. Dean grinned back and stood up.

"You see that's what I want to see." Dean commented, referring to Cas' smile then sat back down on his chair again. "How come you got here so early?" Dean asked looking around at the otherwise vacant room.

"Avoiding my Dad." Cas replied, the smile fading from his lips. "What about you? Most people don't arrive until quarter to." Cas asked, putting his sketchbook away.

"Had to drop off my lil bro." Dean replied and Cas nodded in recognition. Cas thought for a moment then braved himself up to ask Dean a question.

"Dean, why are you so nice to me? Everyone else they just ignore me or whatever but you...you're different." Cas said gently and Dean looked upset for a moment.

"Cas you're, I dunno man, I don't like the way the others treat you and I guess you're kinda nice too." Dean replied and Cas' eyes lit up and his chest swelled, not in pain for once.

"Thank you." Cas replied and Dean held onto his eye contact and his mouth twitched up at the corner. Cas stared back and an eyebrow raised. Dean clenched his jaw trying to force a smile away, not succeeding he looked down at the floor and blushed. Suddenly another student walked in the room and Cas looked away from Dean quickly and focussed on the table.

_After lunch time._

Cas walked down the corridor, dodging in and out of peoples way trying to navigate through the large school. The bubble of noise around him is very loud, making him nervous. Being in school with a condition like his is hell, you have to be on the constant look out for possible triggers which in itself is a trigger. Most disorders aren't visible but if you look closely, his is. Fiddling with fingers, nervous eyes glancing around, tensing his jaw and the odd twitch, it looks pretty minor but on the inside it's like trying to contain a volcano. Bubbling and boiling inside of him waiting to attack his heart and his vision for another full blown panic attack. The lava in his veins, coursing through him making him clench his fists and twitch every now and then to release some tension. He hated his disorder but he pushed through it, deal with it so his mom wouldn't have to worry. It's true he cared more about his family than his own well being. Admirable to some, deadly to others.

Dean saw him and called out his name, assuming it was another bully Cas kept his head down and walked a little faster. "Cas! Wait up!" Dean ordered and Cas' heart began to pound. Dean tapped him gently on the shoulder and Cas flinched away causing him to bump into another student. He put out his hands apologetically and kept his head low. "Cas it's me, Dean." Dean said pushing through the crowd to walk next to him. Cas looked up and his face relaxed.

"Where were you at lunch? I looked in the library, you weren't there." Dean asked and Cas looked guilty.

"You did? Oh uh you must have uh missed me." Cas stuttered. "I'm sorry."

"No don't apologise just tell me where to find you next time man. Were you in the canteen?" Dean asked, surprised that Cas looked so upset about missing him. Cas looked up suddenly at Dean.

"No never the canteen." He said harshly and Dean raised his eyebrows. "Sorry." He apologised again.

"Quit apologising." Dean asked.

"Sorry," Cas replied. "Tomorrow, I can uh meet you in the library if you want?" He offered.

"I'd like that." Dean replied smiling. "I mean uh, that'd be cool." He corrected then coughed masculinely as they arrived at their class. They walked in.

"Castiel you can't just bring strays in." The teacher commented, thinking he was hilarious. A few class members chuckled quietly as Cas waited with Dean at the front.

"Dean Winchester." Dean said offering out a hand. The teacher took it and shook it firmly.

"Doctor Zachariah, you must be the new kid. Well...another new kid." He said then nodded at a bare faced young lady with faded shoulder length red hair in an Avengers shirt with a spare seat on the left of her.

"Cas you are able to sit down you know." The teacher said sarcastically. Cas opened his mouth to speak then shut it again and moved to his place next to a slender attractive girl.

"Is there anything you want to say to your new class?" Dr Zachariah offered.

"Not particularly." Dean replied, watching Cas carefully.

"Then take your seat." He replied and Dean looked around the room. The only space being next to the new girl so he moved there and sat down next to her.

"Hi." She said quietly, smiling sweetly. "Where you from?" She asked as the teacher handed out textbooks. Dean nervously smiled back.

"Lawrence, Kansas." Dean replied "What about you?" He asked leaning on his elbows.

"Directly, Adelaide in New Zealand, but I was born in England." She replied and Dean could hear her New Zealand accent.

"Nice accent, did your mum make it for you?" A boisterous loud boy called from the other side of the room.

"No ya cuntfuck my Basel ganglia, which is a part of your brain which controls speech and inhibitions, did." She yelled back. The teacher turned around both impressed and shock.

"That would have been just as impressive without the swearing little miss." He said in warning tone and put Romeo and Juliet in front of her then moved onto Dean.

"Don't condescend me." She replied confidently. "Ya prick." She added quietly and Dean laughed a little, she turned to him and smiled. "What?" She asked innocently.

"You." He said. "I like you."

"Cheers mate." She replied and looked down at the book. "Romeo and Juliet. Again." She commented.

"Something wrong with the text?" Dr Zachariah asked sitting down in his chair at the front.

"This is like the sixth time we've studied them." She replied.

"Well you should know the story very well then." He replied. "Summarise it for the class. Go on, there's a good girl." He said condescendingly and she nodded, not responding to his childishness then looked around the room with her hands in the air.

"Right so this chick, Juliet bumps into Romeo who by the way is at least 7 years older than her and she's 13 so already he's a paedo-"

"Without that kind of language please." The teacher intervened.

"so already he's a paedophile. Then those two kiss a ton bein all romantic with the sonnet and the 'holy palmers kiss' and all that religious imagery stuff. Then these lil romantics find out eachothers identity and it all goes to shit after that really. Tybalt kills Mercutio then Romeo kills Tybalt then he gets sent out of Verona for killin' a dude. Then the pricks decide to get married, bearing in mind they've only known eachother for a day. Then they shag and then she pretends to be dead he doesn't get the news that she's not actually dead so he kills himself then she kills herself and it's a pile of wank basically. But fortunately the parents agreed not to be dicks again." She said, acting out different parts, then sat back down and looked at the teacher who was utterly gob smacked.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked and she shook her head and shrugged.

"Nah she's dead ya prick." She replied, cross armed.

"Get out. Now." He ordered pointing with a shaking arm at the door. She stood up confidently walked towards the door, then just before she left she winked at Dean.

"See ya later fuckers." She called and Dean and a few others laughed.

"Can we keep her?" One student suggested and the teacher looked like he might explode as he stood up knocking the chair backwards and stormed towards the door. The class fell silent as he slammed the door.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" He demanded and the class listened eagerly.

"Jay Shaddix, mate." She replied calmly.

"Well, Jay. Don't you have any respect for teachers? You are supposed to respect me." He yelled, pointing at himself.

"Nah mate, why the fuck would I respect you if you're such a prick to me? Ask any teacher from my old school and they'll tell you that I don't take shit from anyone. You do realise that condescension is the worst thing a teacher can ever do."

"Is it an Australian thing to swear that much?" He asked childishly.

"How would I know? I'm from New Zealand. Listen mate, if you wanna do your job properly. Then don't be a dick to kids cause they'll just blank out your lessons then you'll get pissed cause they aren't doing well. We are actually humans too, and if your head wasn't so far up your own ass you'd see that." She replied and a few kids in the class exchanged glances.

"How the hell would you know?" He asked angrily she looked confused.

"Know that we're humans? Christ on a bike-" She replied

"No. How the hell would you know what it's like to be a teacher?" He corrected.

"Because I teach a sign language class. If you want respect from me, you have to give it to me. Like I was fine with you before I didn't know you and therefore I had maximum respect for you, but when you were harsh to that Cas kid it pissed me off because you had no reason to say that and you probably made him feel like shit. And Cas if you're listening, I'm sorry mate." She called through the door. "You got no right making kids feel like shit if you're not willing to pay for it." She concluded.

"How do I get respect from these kids? They hate me." He replied, sounding desperate.

"Jeez I wonder why. Just don't be a dick to them. Don't isolate them, and don't pick on someone if their hand isn't up. Don't set a ridiculous amount of homework if you're not willing to mark it in the same time frame you gave them to do it in. As a teacher, you teach. That means you need to communicate well with them, when a kid doesn't understand. Don't sigh and get pissed cause they don't get it. Try to remember that it's definitely your fault if they don't get it. A good teacher makes a hell of a difference when it comes to our grades. So be the good teacher, right?" She said and he had been listening closely.

"Right well. I'm..sorry then." Dr Zachariah replied and the class looked at eachother shocked. "But don't swear." Jay smiled a little and he opened the door. As he moved Jay noticed a couple of teachers in the hallway staring.

"Alright." She called to them and walked back in the room. The teacher following afterwards.

"We can keep her." He announced as she fist bumped a couple of kids then sat down.

"Are you single?" The loud boisterous boy asked.

"Not for you mate." She replied smiling and glanced at a couple of people around the room then noticed Cas who's face was very troubled and uncomfortable. She noticed the girl sat next to him, staring at him intently then glanced below the desk. She was stroking up his thigh.

"Hey." Jay called frowning the girl didn't look up. "Hey!" She repeated louder. The girl looked up with a sneer.

"What?" She snapped, still stroking Cas' leg.

"Quit touching him you perv." She ordered and the class looked over at her and Cas shut his eyes as she stroked up his crotch. Jay stood up and walked directly to her.

"Quit it." She said putting her hands on the table and staring intimidatingly into her.

"What the fuck are you gonna do, bitch? Look he's hard, he wants it." She said.

"If you think for one fucking second it's okay to touch a guy like that just because of his gender, you're extremely fucking wrong." Jay said sternly and grabbed the arm that was touching him and the girl tried to throw a punch but she grabbed that wrist too.

"Him reacting like that isn't consent, you should know that. Since him touching you like that wouldn't be consent either. People like you disgust me and the only reason you do is for power. Touch anyone like that again and I'll make you fucking sorry. Understand?" She growled then looked over at Cas. "Come talk to me outside, if that's alright Sir?" She asked Cas.

"Of course, take your time. I'll deal with her." Dr Zachariah replied. Jay let go of the girls wrists and nodded at Cas who stood up eyes to the floor and walked out with her.

Outside she stood a foot from him a little way from the classroom. "Is it okay if I hug you?" She asked gently, careful not to move towards him. He nodded wiping away a stray tear. She moved towards him slowly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he hugged her around her waist.

"You're okay now sweetie. It's alright." She said and kissed his hair and tried to pull back but he held on tighter, they hugged for a long time then she spoke up. "Is there anywhere here you feel safe?" She asked and he pulled away letting his arms drop to his sides, his wet eyes dripping hot salty tears every now and then, slowly he nodded.

"The library." He croaked.

"Alright sweetie, that's where we'll go." She replied walking with him.

When they arrived Cas showed her to the seats near his hidey hole. They sat down and Cas looked worriedly up to her.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked.

"Because I know how it feels to be violated like that, but when it happened to me, no one was there to help me so I'm helping everyone I can. How long has she been doing this?" Jay replied, Cas seemed to smile for a moment, but it didn't last long as he fell into thought.

"A couple of years. Sometimes worse than this." He replied cautiously.

"It'll be difficult, but can you explain how much worse?" She asked gently, he regarded her for a moment then replied.

"She pushed me into a janitors cupboard and uh, sucked me off. When I tried to push her off, she hit me and carried on." Cas replied looking guilty.

"That's assault." She replied shocked.

"I know I'm sorry."

"No not you Cas, she was, she assaulted you. Never think that it was your fault, because it wasn't. She is sick and twisted and needs help if she thinks that's how the world works." Jay said holding his hands. He looked up at her with puppy eyes then furrowed his eyebrows and began carefully.

"Is it okay? Can I ask what happened to you?" He asked gently and she smiled weakly.

"Of course it is sweetie." She began and looked down at her hands, holding his gently. "When I was 11 I, my dad's friend. Okay hang on, they got drunk together one evening and she, my dad's friend, attacked me when I was in my room. She crawled on top of me and pinned me down, and I just about had boobs by this point so she started there and worked her way down. When it was over I, I never told anyone about it and I felt horrible. Disgusting. Like it was my fault and I never forgave my dad for letting her do that. Two years later she was found dead in a ditch, they say it was drug overdose and I. Well I sort of felt sorry for her. No one deserves to die, but she thought she did and that's horrible." She paused looking down. "After that I took up self defence and I'm now a black belt in tae kwon doe. So I guess in a way, I needed that to happen to me to prevent worse things from happening in the future? I don't know, I like to think of it like that." She finished and looked up at Cas. "If you ever need to talk to me, then I'll always be here. I don't sleep much so don't worry about calling me at like 3am. I will always listen to you, Cas." She said then got a Biro out of her pocket. "Can I?" She asked nodding to his hand. He nodded back and she wrote her number on his hand then turned it over and drew a heart on his palm.

"I love you." She said and kissed the middle of the heart and he smiled and blushed heavily.

"Thanks Jay." Cas said pushing his bottom lip into his top lip.

"Hey Cas, are you alright?" Dean asked gently, walking over to the two Leah looked up.

"I'm okay now, Dean." Cas replied looking up at him.

"You want me to leave, cause I don't mind?" Leah asked and Dean shook his head.

"No, stay please." He asked and Leah smiled.

"Alright sweetie." She replied and Dean knelt down next to Cas.

"How did you get out?" Cas asked and Dean smiled.

"When Dr Zach took the girl out I kinda snuck out." Dean replied and Cas smiled back.

"I'm glad you're here." Cas replied.

"So am I, it was a room full of strangers there." Dean replied then glanced over at Leah. "And you, thank you for that." Leah nodded in respect.

"No problem mate." She replied.

"We should head back." Cas suggested.

"Are you alright to do that?" Dean asked.

"Yeah I'll be fine." He replied and Leah raised her eyebrows.

"You're a brave chicken noodle, mate." Jay commented and the two gave her a funny look. "What? It's a term of endearment in Kiwi land." She finished and Dean laughed standing up with Cas.

"So, Jay, that was quite a speech out there." Dean commented quietly as they walked through the library. Cas in the middle of the two.

"Oh ya heard all that did ya?" She replied

"Hell yeah. You really put him in his place." Dean replied smiling and Leah blushed and looked down.

"He deserved it." She replied and glanced at Cas who'd been watching her.

"When you said, not for you, what did you mean? You know when that guy asked you if you were single?" Cas asked gently and Dean looked hurt for a moment then pushed that face away and put on a happy mask.

"He ain't my type." She replied simply.

"How'd you mean?" Dean asked.

"Well he's a dick. I don't date dicks." She replied.

"Oh. Am I a dick?" Dean asked gently and she smiled at him.

"I don't think so." She said opening the door to the classroom.

_The end of the day_

"Hey Sam." Dean called from the doorway of his younger brother's classroom. The younger boy turned around and smiled at Dean then looked confused at the sight of Castiel.

"This is Cas." Dean introduced. "That's Sammy, my lil bro."

"Don't call me Sammy, Dean." Sam said shovelling his big back pack onto his shoulder.

"Whatever Sammy." Dean replied and Cas smiled. They walked out of the junior school and turned right down the long road. Sam had been watching Cas closely.

"Dean?" Sam asked.

"Yeah?" Dean looked down at him.

"Is he your boyfriend?" He asked innocently and both Cas and Dean blushed heavily and Cas looked down whilst Dean shook his head smiling.

"No no Sammy, just a friend, alright?" Dean replied and glanced over at Cas who's face was turned to the ground, he looked up at Dean without moving his head then turned away from him and smiled. Sam observed the two for a moment and jumped his eyebrows.

"You often bring home boyfriends?" Cas asked smiling. Dean swallowed nervously then looked up to see someone he recognised in the distance.

"Is that..?" He began and Cas followed his line of vision. Dean breathed out slowly, knowing that was a narrow escape.

"I think it is." Cas replied.

"What's she doing with a kid?" Dean asked as she watched the girl cross the road with a buggy.

"Her kid?" Sam perked up.

"Nah she's our age." Dean replied furrowing her eyebrows.

"Then it's probably her sibling." Sam said in a matter of fact voice.

"Alright smart ass, pipe down would you?" Dean asked then stopped walking. "This is us." Dean said nodding his head at the house they'd stopped at. Cas' face fell. "You wanna come in for a bit?" Dean offered and Sam smiled to himself.

"Nah no it's okay, I should head home." Cas replied and twitched a smile. Dean nodded back at him.

"Alright, see you tomorrow Cas." He said turning to the house. Sam waved at Cas who waved back and headed on down the street.

_Later that evening._

Cas shut the door behind him as quietly as he could and tip toed up the stairs.

"Casss..." Gabe began as Cas tried to tip toe past his door. Cas sighed and turned to the door.

"Yessss..." He replied and the door opened suddenly. Gabe's previously pissed off face suddenly fell to worried and shocked.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked looking Cas up and down. Cas turned away and tried to walk to his room. "Nu uh. You get back here and tell me what the fuck happened." Gabe ordered and Cas' shoulders fell and he slowly turned around, facing the ground. Gabe came out of his room and walked towards his little bro. "Who did this to you man?" He asked and touched Castiel's bruised cheekbone gently, Cas flinched away and looked up at Gabe with sorrow in his eyes, then he shook his head and tried to turn away. Gabe grabbed his shoulder and Cas yelped in pain and fell to his knees. Gabe let go carefully then knelt down in front of him.

"This is serious Cas, let me see your shoulder." Gabe ordered and nodded to Cas' room. Cas nodded slowly and got to his feet and went into his room, Gabe following closely behind and shut the door.

Gabe helped Cas take off his v neck sweater then Cas undid the buttons on his shirt and took it off carefully, showing his pale thin torso. Castiel's right shoulder was heavily bruised especially on the collar bone. Gabe looked at it closely, it was snapped in the centre, jutting outwards.

"Cas you've broken your collar bone." Gabe commented wide eyed, then glanced up at Cas who's face looked apologetic. "How did you get it?" Gabe asked.

"They shoved me against a wall, I guess it must have been enough to snap the collar bone." Cas replied and Gabe sighed, inflating his cheeks slightly.

"You know I've got to put it back in, right?" Gabe said looking seriously at Cas who swallowed wide eyed and clenched his jaw. "On the count of three. One." He said then pushed at the bone and it snapped into a straight line again. Cas yelped out, holding his arm.

"That wasn't three." He wheezed.

"Oh shut up." Gabe replied turning away and walking out the door.

A couple of minutes later he returned with a sling and tied it carefully around his brother's neck.

"I'm gonna go google how long it takes for a collar bone to heal and you stay here and rest it." Gabe ordered and left once again. Cas sat down carefully on his bed and looked down at his arm, resting limply in the sling then cursed at himself for walking Dean home. That route was banned on his watch and guaranteed to see bullies. So why did he go that way? And why did Sam ask if he was Dean's boyfriend? There were so many questions that couldn't possibly be answered until Cas saw Dean again.

"For humans it would take about 4 years to fully heal." Gabe said, walking back into Cas' room. "But for us, that's about 4 days. You should be able to move by morning. Tell the school it's a dislocation or something."

"Thanks Gabe." Cas said, smiling sweetly.

"N'aww look at my baby brother going all mushy." Gabe said carefully hugging Cas' good side and kissing his cheek with loud "mwa" sounds. Cas started laughing and tried pushing him off.

"Get off." He said playfully and Gabe lost his balance and fell on top of his brother onto the bed Castiel's knee landing fully into Gabe's crotch. Gabe buckled over and fell off Cas, curling up on the bed next to him.

"Christ." Gabe commented and Cas frowned.

"Dude he left home ages ago." Cas replied and Gabe looked up at Cas, still holding his balls.

"Good point." He replied weakly.

"You alright?" Cas asked, still smiling.

"You just kneed me in the balls, I'm freaking dandy." Gabe retorted.

"Sorry." Cas said trying to stifle a grin, Gabe sat up slightly and edged off the bed, reaching into his pants and moving things around.

"No I probably deserved it." Gabe said and turned his feet to face the door. "Sweet dreams kiddo." Gabe said and Cas nodded back at him then Gabe shut the door. Cas listened for Gabe to go back into his room then Cas stood up and walked to his window and watched the sun set. Then shut the curtains and single handedly took the rest of his clothes off, changed into boxers and lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling with the more delicate arm resting on his chest as he pulled up the duvet. He silently prayed for an easy nights sleep then shut his eyes.

_7:00am_

"Gooooood mornin' sunshine!" Gabe called as he cheerily trotted into Cas' room. Cas opened his eyes slowly and squinted at Gabe.

"What are you doing up? You don't work." Cas croaked, rubbing his eye and sitting up carefully.

"Au contrer mon frere!" Gabe replicated in a poor French accent. "I got a job last night." He said proudly dancing around the room. Cas laughed breathily.

"You, working?" Cas asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Jeez don't sound too pleased you might bust something." Gabe teased.

"I'm sorry. I am really proud of you Gabe." Cas corrected and Gabe lowered his head and twitched his eyebrows.

"Damn straight you are." He replied. "I got to go, you know...work." He said then laughed at his own musings and left the room. Cas smiled and shook his head. Gabe had always been the trickster of the family, pulling pranks on everyone and making them laugh. He is Cas' last hope.

As Cas buttoned up his shirt and rolled up the sleeves he heard yelling downstairs.

"It is YOUR fault that he's this messed up, Dad! You should've been there for him." Gabe yelled.

"I had other things to do, son." He retorted.

"Nothing is more important than your own son." Gabe shouted back angrily.

"Do you question my judgement?" He challenged.

"Maybe I do. Cause you know what maybe Lucifer was right. Maybe sometimes you do get it wrong. You taught us that nothing is more important than family, and yet you ignore that every day. We see you maybe once every couple of months Dad, that's not enough." Gabe retorted and Cas shut his eyes and blocked his ears.

A couple of minutes later the door slammed, Cas took his hands off his ears and listened. Dead silence. He dared not call out for his brother so he waited in a poised position to see if his Dad was still in the house. He didn't hear any further movement, so he grabbed his bag and tip toed down the stairs and out of the house.

When Cas strolled wearily into his classroom, Dean was already there. He was sat, feet up on the table, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, he slid his feet down and jumped up suddenly.

"Cas?! What the hell happened to you?" He asked wide eyed walking towards him. Cas glanced down at the sling.

"Uh I dislocated my shoulder." Cas replied and Dean looked suspiciously at him.

"How?" He asked, Cas panicked a little then spewed out the first thing that came into his head.

"I fell off my bike." He replied and Dean winced sympathetically.

"Damn." He commented and Dean raised his arm to put it on Cas' good shoulder, Cas flinched away and Dean looked confused for a second.

"Dude I'm not gonna hit you." He said with his arm still poised in the air Cas swallowed nervously and clenched his jaw. "I'm just gonna..." Dean continued and slowly put his hand on Cas' shoulder. "Is that okay, can I do that?" He asked cautiously and Cas twitched a half smile and nodded. Slowly Dean moved his hand along Cas' shoulder to his neck and rested it there for a second and glanced at his lips. Cas looked confused and intrigued as Dean's thumb caressed the skin next to his jaw line.

"What are you doing, Dean?" Cas asked gently and Dean took his hand away disheartened and looked at the ground.

"I dunno." Dean said quietly then turned and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Cas called after him.

"Toilet." Dean replied then shut the door behind him.

In the toilet Dean charged into a cubicle and pulled his pants down over his hardened member and leant back against the wall as he jacked himself off almost silently. Someone walked into the bathroom and called out.

"Dean? Are you okay?" Cas called and Dean stopped and opened his eyes wide.

"Why'd you follow me in here? I'm fine." Dean replied defensively.

"You looked kind of...upset." Cas replied and Dean clenched his jaw as he pulled up his underwear and jeans, flushed the toilet and walked out to see Cas standing there, staring at him. Dean forced a smile.

"I'm fine." He said, glancing away from him. Cas regarded him for a second, deciding whether or not to ask. He sighed quietly then began.

"Dean are you uh...gay?" He asked cautiously, and Dean looked scared as he tried to push past Cas who put an arm on his shoulder and stopped him from walking any further. Dean looked up to Cas, trying to read him. His defensive mask fell and he now looked fragile and weak. "Because if you are..." Cas continued a dark smile creeping across his pinkish lips as he stood in front of Dean and looked up at him. "You should know," Cas rested a hand on Dean's neck. "I am utterly indifferent to sexual orientation." He breathed, and glanced down to Dean's lips which opened submissively under Castiel's intense curious stare. Suddenly someone crashed against the boys bathroom door.

"FUCK OFF YA PRICK." The someone called in a familiar New Zealand accent. Cas and Dean exchanged glances then walked fast towards the door. Dean went out first to see Jay holding Tyler by his collar and shoving him against the wall Cas looked past Dean and watched. "TOUCH ME LIKE THAT AGAIN AND I'LL FUCKING END YOU." She growled loudly then chucked him onto the floor. Tyler lay there shocked for a couple of seconds then scrambled to his feet and ran away as Jay paused in an animalistic posture, she stood up straight, watching Tyler run and muttered. "Dick." To herself then turned and saw the two boys, wide eyed poking their heads out of the boys bathroom. A smile shone across her face.

"Mornin' boys." She called walking towards them and Dean stared intently.

"What was he doing to you?" Cas asked stepping out of the doorway.

"Touchin' my ass. He didn't seem to grasp the fact that that's my property and not his." She commented then looked suspiciously between the two. "I wasn't interrupting anything was I?" she asked quietly and Dean shook his head and forced a smile.

"Nah no you weren't." He replied and Jay lifted her head in recognition.

"So you'd finished." She commented with a glint in her eye and Dean bitch-faced as Cas blushed. "I'm only messin' with ya. Cas, what the hell happened to your arm?" She asked nodding at the sling.

"I dislocated my shoulder, I fell off my bike." He replied hastily not making eye contact.

"Cas, mate, I'm not an idiot. It's quite fucking difficult to dislocate your shoulder by falling off your bike. And besides that's not the right sling for a dislocation. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm just informing you I'm a black belt in tae kwon doe and I will beat the shit out of anyone who hurts either of you. Alright?" She replied quietly and Dean looked worriedly over at Cas who glanced up at him with an apologetic look on his face.

"Why?" Dean asked simply turning back to Jay.

"Because you're both nice guys and that's rare as fuck so I intend to befriend you and do friendly things for you. As some friendly advice, two guys coming out of the bathroom together looking incredibly guilty does raise a few questions, so I advise you move out of there." She replied suppressing a smile as the two boys moved out of the doorway completely and walked back to their classroom with Jay.

"We weren't doing anything." Dean defended and Jay stood in front of him and whispered in his ear.

"You've still got a boner." Dean looked down suddenly to see she was lying then looked up to see her massive grin.

"I hate you." He said with a bitch-face.

"Why what did she say?" Cas interjected curiously.

"I told him his flies were down." Jay replied walking alongside Dean who regarded her for a moment, confused and she raised her eyebrows and shook her head as a "What?" and he sniggered a little and looked at Cas.

"You didn't answer my question." He stated and Dean glared at him.

"I'll tell you later." Dean replied and glanced over at Jay as they walked into the classroom. A few heads looked up, including a girl with her hair in a tight pony tail chewing bubble gum.

"You're not in this class." She said to Jay.

"I know." Jay replied without a second glance watching Cas closely, as he looked nervously around the room. "Is it that bad?" She asked quietly and Cas looked up and tilted his head in question.

"Being near people, your anxiety." She added and Cas cautiously glanced around the room then stared intently at her.

"How did you know?" He asked and Jay looked guilty for a moment.

"It's easy to see, for someone like me Cas." She replied and Cas looked down furrowed his eyebrows then glanced up at her.

"What do you mean, someone like you?" He asked.

"You remember what I told you?" She said quietly and Cas nodded. "After that I went into care, and well you meet people there. All kinds of people." She said then gazed down memory lane. "You learn to read them." She concluded finally and regarded the two boys for a second before her eyes widened and she looked up at the clock. "Shit, I gotta roll. I'll see you homiesexuals in English." she said quietly then left.


End file.
